Seven youths have been shot dead by gunmen at a tin mining site in Gakok, Kuru community, located in Jos South LGA of Plateau state.
Gatekeepers News reports that youths indicate that the attackers stormed the mining area in the early hours of Thursday and opened fire on the victims.
Reacting to the incident, Gyang Sunday Pwajok, secretary-general of the Plateau Youth Council (PYC), Jos South LGA chapter, said the victims were
peacefully striving to make ends meet through legitimate mining activities when their lives were brutally cut short.
Pwajok said the killings reflect the growing security crisis in the state, describing it as part of an unending cycle of orchestrated violence and bloodshed.
The statement added, “This tragic incident further deepens the pain, fear and anger of our people, as Plateau State continues to witness an unending cycle of orchestrated violence and bloodshed. The persistent wave of killings is deeply disturbing and unacceptable.”
“We mourn with the families of the victims and the entire Kuru community. May the gentle souls of the departed rest in perfect peace and may God grant their loved ones the strength to bear this irreparable loss.”
“The PYC Jos South LGA Chapter hereby calls on the Kuru Traditional Council, youth organizations and relevant government authorities to urgently restructure and strengthen the Mining Sites Unions, empowering them to fully take charge of activities at all mining sites.”
“This must include strict regulation, effective security coordination and the immediate ban on night mining, which has continued to expose innocent youths to avoidable dangers.”
Zagazola Makama, a counterterrorism publication, identified the victims as Dung Gyang, 19; Weng Dung, 26; Francis Paul, 25; Samuel Peter, 22; Dung Simon, 28; Pam Dung, 23; and Francis Markus, 15.
The report said troops and police officers who arrived at the scene recovered 7.62mm ammunition. The bodies were later taken to the Primary Health Care Centre in Dabwak, Kuru.
Alfred Alabo, spokesperson of the Plateau police command, has yet to comment on the attack.
The incident comes weeks after a similar attack in December 2025, when gunmen killed at least 12 miners and abducted three others in Fan community, Barkin Ladi LGA of Plateau state.
